Roster Rundown: No. 50 Marquan McCall

It seems like Marquan McCall was a four-star highly regarded recruit from the state of Michigan.

Now he's part of one of the nation's top 1-2 punches at nose guard.

Background: When Marquan McCall verbally committed to Kentucky he was rated the No. 1 player in Michigan according to Rivals.com. He was the first real shocker that Steve Clinkscale had pulled recruiting the state on Kentucky's behalf.

He ended the 2018 recruiting cycle as the No. 154 player in the Rivals250 and the No. 5 defensive tackle nationally.

The 6'3, 369-pound McCall played in eight games as a true freshman, bypassing a redshirt, and was dominant against Murray State in showing flashes of the potential that became more of a regular display last season.

Before the 2020 season UK defensive line coach Derrick Leblanc told Cats Illustrated that McCall needed to prove his conditioning and endurance in order to stay on the field and play at a high level consistently. He seems to have taken a step forward in that regard.

He played in all of Kentucky's games last season finishing the campaign with 21 tackles and four tackles for loss.

2020 Outlook: When Quinton Bohanna announced he would be returning to Kentucky for his senior season that ensured that McCall would primarily be with the second teamers for at least one more year. But he played so much last year that it allowed Bohanna to remain largely fresh and capable of performing at a high level when he was in the game.

If McCall can continue to show the endurance that is sometimes difficult for a 370-pounder then he can be a real problem in the Southeastern Conference. He can be counted on to take up blockers and blow up some plays in the backfield through sheer explosive power and force of will. And he's on track to be the starter in 2021.